Hello, Forum! It's me again, and this time we gonna talk about the herp assortment in Republic of Karelia, Russia! Here are my finds of different years. Let's go!
PART 1 - SNAKE:
Yes, it's not snakes. It's snake. Common European adder (Vipera berus) is the only snake species native to Karelia. If you're lucky, you may also find a Natrix natrix, but it usually don't lives here, but comes occasionaly from more southern regions.
Adult from near White Sea:
Изображение 331 by ru_seva, on Flickr
And a pretty little and cute juvenile found in summer 2015!
IMG_0701 by ru_seva, on Flickr
This is the only my good photos of V. berus , so let's go to next part!
PART 2 - AMPHIBIANS:
In Karelia there is two frog species. On this photos - Common frog (Rana temporaria) in it's breeding season:
изображение 1574 by ru_seva, on Flickr
изображение 1572 by ru_seva, on Flickr
изображение 1558 by ru_seva, on Flickr
Can you notice third one on this image?
изображение 1582 by ru_seva, on Flickr
изображение 1586 by ru_seva, on Flickr
And second species is Moor frog (Rana arvalis). It usually can be differenced from R. temporaria using upside-down V letter on it's head.
IMG_0122 by ru_seva, on Flickr
Common toad (Bufo bufo) is pretty common too. Here is a juvenile a few centimeters long.
IMG_0690 by ru_seva, on Flickr
Also, two species of newts (Triturus cristatus und Lissotriton vulgaris) inhabit Karelia, but I've found only this larvae (species unknown):
изображение 014 by ru_seva, on Flickr
PART 3 - LIZARDS:
In Karelia there are only two lizard species. Common one is Viviparous Lizard (Zootoca vivipara):
Adult one (notice a mite on it's leg):
IMG_0288 by ru_seva, on Flickr
Bottom side:
IMG_0292 by ru_seva, on Flickr
And the juvenile.
изображение 531 by ru_seva, on Flickr
The second, rare species is Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis) - legless lizard.
Изображение 049 by ru_seva, on Flickr
Изображение 041 by ru_seva, on Flickr
Изображение 050 by ru_seva, on Flickr
And the coolest and rarest find of summer 2015 - melanistic Viviparous Lizard! Look at this fantastic colours!
IMG_0759 (1) by ru_seva, on Flickr
IMG_0773 by ru_seva, on Flickr
That's all for today!
Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare find!
Moderator: Scott Waters
- Russianherps
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- Joined: November 15th, 2015, 10:22 am
- Location: Moscow, Russia
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Re: Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare fi
Thank you for the thorough summary of Karelian herpetofauna. I thought Montana was poor with 16 species in my area. My brother lives nearby in Tampere, Finland, so he shares the few species, except for Natrix natrix, which he saw once. If you report to us again, please show what the habitat looks like.
Jeff
Jeff
Re: Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare fi
Great stuff there! Thanks for posting. Love seeing the things we never get to encounter.
- Jeroen Speybroeck
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Re: Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare fi
It doesn't have to be about big species number counts every time; this is cool too. Especially since I have about all of those species (and more) in my backyard too.
That arvalis looks funny though; I really don't think the V-mark is a reliable feature to distinguish it from temporaria.
That black vivipara's belly is fascinating...!
Those newt larvae are vulgaris, not cristatus. The latter has very elongated, thin toes, especially on the hind feet.
That arvalis looks funny though; I really don't think the V-mark is a reliable feature to distinguish it from temporaria.
That black vivipara's belly is fascinating...!
Those newt larvae are vulgaris, not cristatus. The latter has very elongated, thin toes, especially on the hind feet.
Re: Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare fi
Interesting stuff. That black lizard is really beautiful.
You may not have that many species in Karelia but considering it is as far north as central Alaska here in North America it is amazing you have the number of species you do!
How long is the herping season up there?
You may not have that many species in Karelia but considering it is as far north as central Alaska here in North America it is amazing you have the number of species you do!
How long is the herping season up there?
- Russianherps
- Posts: 12
- Joined: November 15th, 2015, 10:22 am
- Location: Moscow, Russia
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Re: Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare fi
Thank for replies everybody. Especially Jeroen Speybroeck for newt larvae ID.chrish wrote:Interesting stuff. That black lizard is really beautiful.
You may not have that many species in Karelia but considering it is as far north as central Alaska here in North America it is amazing you have the number of species you do!
How long is the herping season up there?
Chrish, herping season in Karelia lasts from end of april (newts and frogs mating) to august-september.